[Bonus] The Late Report: August 2020

August wraps up with a pretty hefty edition of The Late Report. Let's check out what the last month had it store for us. Spoiler alert: there's actually some interesting stuff to go over so that's exciting. From serious to memes, good music to bad, variety is the spice of life.

JYP & Sunmi - When We Disco

And you know I'll start with memes! Twice? Itzy? Nah JYP is the comeback of the month because he's still got the moves even when he's almost 50 years old. Sunmi is of course spectacular in both voice and visual, and it's funny how she got to collab with him after leaving the label. The other funny aspect is the idea that these two put on a very simple choreography display for us after Red Velvet's tutting broke everyone's arms. How thoughtful of the legend.

Lee Hyori Assembles The (Female) Avengers

Holy shit you thought SuperM was a hype ass group? This quartet has it all. Lee Hyori, Uhm Junghwa, Jessi, and Hwasa. That is maximum bad bitch energy right there. That is combined decades of experience, talent, and wisdom all working together. And I expect something magical from this squad. My favorite comment was the in the r/kpop thread where someone said "Lesbians. It is our time." But yeah man I'm really interested in seeing what these four can bring to the table together.

Taemin - 2 Kids

Never have I pretended to know anything about choreography and that isn't changing anytime soon. Especially in my post-dance crew years. Anyway Taemin continues to produce art. That's all I really have to say. Watch the man work.

[Bonus] The Late Report: June 2020

Man, these are...not getting hard to write per se, but given the record lows of investment and attention I'm giving the Kpop world, I certainly have never felt more lost while making these posts. Thus it's more refreshing than ever to dig around and find out what's been buzzing in these ecosystem every few weeks. I don't plan on retiring this series just yet so we'll see what happens over the next couple of months. If the Late Report can keep chugging along until its two year anniversary in November, I think that'd be pretty cool.

Sunmi - Pporappippam

Everyone rejoice, for she has done it again. Weird title aside, Sunmi has returned with another electrifying dance number. The instrumental is beautifully powerful without being overbearing, and Sunmi's delightful vocals continue to do work. Redditors were saying how the opening was reminiscent of a Legend of Zelda OST. For some reason when I checked out the teaser I didn't agree, but my ears have fully opened and it's definitely out of a video game soundtrack. The rest of it is - as previously advertised - brilliant and the combination of the synths and Sunmi kills it again. Now that I've looked at the lyrics, don't the Korean words translate to "Purple Light Night" or something along those lines? You figure even a slightly scuffed translation would function better as a title, but who knows how the minds of these producers and songwriters work.

[Bonus] The Late Report: Februrary 2020

February has come and gone, now we head into March. This was one helluva month, with comebacks galore and an extra 29th day to boot.

Everglow - Dun Dun

Dun? Done? Dumb? Which is it? I think it's actually a mixture of all three, but you can imagine my confusion on first listen. "Dun Dun" is Everglow's latest project and probably their most well-rounded of their three tracks so far. Thus, it's the one I like the best even though I'm not entirely sold on them yet. Everglow's trademark appears to be exhilarating dance tracks with impactful choruses that are loaded with lots and lots of energy. But for me it's the little things like the sly harmonies of each chorus that edge out "Adios" and "Bon Bon Chocolat." Aisha shows promise as a rapper with her voice and flow, I'm excited to see more of her.

Yezi - My Gravity

Hang on, this is Yezi...singing. What timeline am I in? Don't get me wrong, this is a gorgeous display of her vocal abilities, I simply was not expecting said display. This is the same girl that raps like a crazy dog and had a badass attitude on Unpretty Rapstar. The sheer surprise factor of how "My Gravity" is a ballad made me forget how I tend to really love the idols who are multitalented and Yezi is certainly showing she wants a place on that list.

[Bonus] The Late Report: August 2019

The funny thing I realized is that even though I feel post production has been slow this year, I'm still on pace for the second most posts in a year on the history of my blog. Of course now that I've said that, everything will self-destruct during the fall and that won't happen but I digress.

Rocket Punch - Bim Bam Bum

Woollim has a new girl group in town. Rocket Punch's "Bim Bam Bum" is your average summery dance track with blips of English here and there, and a generic music video to boot. Truth be told there isn't anything particularly interesting to glean about Rocket Punch to start, but they are coming out of a respectable label so I figure they were worth mentioning here. They do have a neat logo, which I'll use in future posts that need them. They're obviously going in a different direction from Lovelyz, so it'll be interesting to see how they progress with more comebacks.

[Bonus] Best Of 2019...So Far

It'll be tradition to post a Best Of the year at the midway point because I loved the idea that some songs would start strong early and then falter off, or new challengers would rise up during the second half. In the 2018 edition four of the nominees would go on to make the final list at the end of the year so let's see if 2019 can do better. Compared to last year, I haven't paid as much attention music-wise because I've been busier (though blog production is the best going into July over the last three years) but I'm pretty comfortable with my list. This time we'll go in alphabetical order by artist, to prevent bias when I reference this at the end of the year for Best Of 2019.

Chungha - Gotta Go

Oh look it's Chungha again, back so soon? "Gotta Go" is the pinnacle of her solo career thus far, showcasing her wide range of vocals, enchanting choreography, and gorgeous visuals. She struts her stuff from start to finish and the fact that it kept improving off her previous releases makes things even better. Extremely consistent, excellent composition, and stellar aesthetics make for a well-rounded track out of this well-rounded artist.

GFriend - Sunrise

This entry is a painful reminder I need to finish the next iteration of Girl Group Power Rankings seeing as GFriend is coming back very soon. Nonetheless their "Sunrise" was a perfect way to start the Kpop year. The main selling point of this song is the chorus, which is once again spearheaded by their two-headed vocal monster in Yuju and Eunha. Said chorus is exhilarating and climbs in both the notes and energy, something which you'll see from another girl group later in this post. Between the strong team performance and beautiful structure of the song, "Sunrise" is yet another addition to GFriend's repertoire.

[Bonus] The Late Report: March 2019

With a string of reviews, we dive into the March Late Report. The previous month kickstarted what hopes to be a magnificent run into the spring block. Enjoy the delicacies from March.

Sunmi - Noir

Leave it to Sunmi for the quick rebound. "Siren" was a tad weaker than other selections in her glorious run but she's right back into the swing of things with "Noir." Her trademark sound is omnipresent and while it's slower than her usual tracks, the audio is still exciting and impressive. Equally as exciting is the artistic video, in which Sunmi does Sunmi things while looking flawless. The MV itself is full of imagery and mockery on the entertainment industry. That current top Youtube comment says it all: "I don't need subtitltes to understand that Sunmi just roasted the whole Internet and society."

[Review] Sunmi - Siren (Blitz)

Here's a big moment. Sunmi could do something rare: have five consecutive standout releases. "24 Hours," "Full Moon," "Gashina," and "Heroine" were all high-quality songs and this could be a historic addition. "Siren" brings another top instrumental and Sunmi's comforting voice to the stage, and these two elements drive the track much like how they have in past hits. The chorus provides an English hook fans can sing along to and serves as a contrast to her huskier tones in the verses. An underrated section of the song is that flawless transition from the verse to prechorus. It's so seamless that you might've thought "Siren" jumped directly to chorus from verse. In an era where songs have predictable changes and shifts, this is definitely something less common. The part that completely kills hype for the song - and the flow of the song itself - is the "lalala" part following the chorus. It's so awkward and serves no purpose. While I understand it's a dance break, the instrumental alone would suffice. The MV is whatever, though we do get to see some goofy Sunmi which was nice. Also, Sunmi is really skinny. Like, freakishly so. I know most Kpop girls are super thin but this is another level - it's uncomfortable. I like "Siren" more than "Heroine" early, but the latter was a grower and the former has little replay value. Despite her best efforts, "Siren" ultimately falls short of joining the club that its predecessors enjoyed being in.

Word Count: 246

[Bonus] Best Of 2017

At last we have arrived. The finale of 2017. No more teasing, let's cut straight to my top 10 songs of the year.

#10. Akdong Musician - Dinosaur

Akdong Musician have been a sleeper pick all these years. They release solid music and I've casually glanced over them time and time again, but no more. "Dinosaur" was AKMU's first take on the EDM genre and it's a mighty successful one at that. I like how the song opens with guitar for ten seconds before sucker punching you into reality. In the last couple of years plagued by songs with disappointing climaxes, "Dinosaur" avoids this mistake with a brilliant break-chorus hybrid. The first time I heard this song was through speakers so I didn't even know that Suhyun was actually singing those notes (starting at 1:42). Her voice is incredible and she'll be a superstar vocalist for many years to come. Also helpful is that Chanhyuk's rapping is absent. Those were always my least favorite parts of AKMU songs. "Dinosaur" is brilliant and I hope they return to some of this stuff once Chanhyuk finishes military service.

#9. Sistar - Lonely

In a year where girl groups disbanded left and right, it felt good to see at least one end their group career peacefully. This is as beautiful and solemn a goodbye as you'll see in Kpop. Their voices are pristine, and while Soyu and Hyorin's abilities are of no surprise, Dasom turns in her strongest performance yet. Bora also shines with a powerful rap that helped erase her mediocrity of the previous few years. These solid factors make this breakup all the more painful. This was as well-rounded of an effort since "Alone," and off the heels of "I Like That" one thought Sistar would be returning to form. But alas. The fact they got to perform this song live makes their finale all the more bittersweet. God, I miss Sistar so much.